Ending The School To Prison Pipeline

This book offers a research and comparison-driven look at the school-to-prison pipeline, its racial dynamics, the connections to mass incarceration, and our flawed educational climate—and suggests practical remedies for change. How is racism perpetuated by the education system, particularly via the "school-to-prison pipeline?" How is the school to prison pipeline intrinsically connected to the larger context of the prison industrial complex as well as the extensive and ongoing criminalization of youth of color? This book uniquely describes the system of policies and practices that racialize criminalization by routing youth of color out of school and towards prison via the school-to-prison pipeline while simultaneously medicalizing white youth for comparable behaviors. This work is the first to consider and link all of the research and data from a sociological perspective, using this information to locate racism in our educational systems; describe the rise of the so-called prison industrial complex; spotlight the concomitant expansion of the "medical-industrial complex" as an alternative for controlling the white and well-off, both adult and juveniles; and explore the significance of media in furthering the white racial frame that typically views people of color as "criminals" as an automatic response. The author also examines the racial dynamics of the school to prison pipeline as documented by rates of suspension, expulsion, and referrals to legal systems and sheds light on the comparative dynamics of the related educational social control of white and middle-class youth in the larger context of society as a whole.

A trenchant and wide-ranging look at this alarming national trend, Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline is unsparing in its account of the problem while pointing in the direction of meaningful and much-needed reforms. The “school-to-prison pipeline” has received much attention in the education world over the past few years. A fast-growing and disturbing development, it describes a range of circumstances whereby “children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems.” Scholars, educators, parents, students, and organizers across the country have pointed to this shocking trend, insisting that it be identified and understood—and that it be addressed as an urgent matter by the larger community. This new volume from the Harvard Educational Review features essays from scholars, educators, students, and community activists who are working to disrupt, reverse, and redirect the pipeline. Alongside these authors are contributions from the people most affected: youth and adults who have been incarcerated, or whose lives have been shaped by the school-to-prison pipeline. Through stories, essays, and poems, these individuals add to the book’s comprehensive portrait of how our education and justice systems function—and how they fail to serve the interests of many young people."

This edited volume focuses on the role that school climate and disciplinary practices have on the educational and social experiences of students of color.

The only text to fully address the causes, impact, and solutions to the school-to-prison pipeline The expanded use of zero tolerance policies and security measures in schools has exponentially increased arrests and referrals to the juvenile courtsóoften for typical adolescent developmental behaviors and low-level misdemeanors. This is the first truly comprehensive assessment of the ìschool-to-prison pipelineîóa term that refers to the increased risk for certain individuals, disproportionately from minority and impoverished communities, to end up ensnared in the criminal justice system because of excessively punitive disciplinary policies in schools. Written by one of the foremost experts on this topic, the book examines school disciplinary policies and juvenile justice policies that contribute to the pipeline, describes its impact on targetedóboth intentionally and unintentionallyóchildren and adolescents, and recommends a more supportive and rehabilitative model that challenges the criminalization of education and punitive juvenile justice. The book outlines effective policies, interventions, and preventative efforts that can be used to improve school climates and safety. The author includes specific recommendations for delinquency, detention, and incarceration prevention. The text incorporates a vast store of empirical knowledge from all relevant fields of study and includes research citations for more in-depth study. Case examples illuminate the plight of adolescents enmeshed in these systems along with effective interventions. The book is a vital resource for undergraduate and graduate students of social work and criminal justice as well as for juvenile court and school personnel and policymakers. Key Features: Provides a comprehensive assessment of the school-to-prison pipeline Recommends a supportive and rehabilitative model that decriminalizes education and challenges punitive juvenile justice Written by one of the foremost national experts on this topic Identifies the major risk factors for involvement in the pipeline About the Author: Christopher A. Mallett, JD, PhD, MSW, is Professor and BSW Program Director, School of Social Work, Cleveland State University. He is licensed in Ohio as an attorney and independent social worker. His research focuses on children and adolescents with disabilities and their involvement with the mental health system, school districts (special education), child welfare, and juvenile courts, with a focus on the impact of comorbid problems and juvenile justice system outcomes. Dr. Mallett is a consultant whose expertise is nationally tapped by juvenile courts, school districts, and childrenís service agencies, including serving on the Schools to Juvenile Justice Technical Assistance Training Team (2013 to present) sponsored by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ). He has published over 55 journal papers, national training briefs, and book chapters, as well as a textbook, Linking Disorders to Delinquency: Treating High Risk Youth in the Juvenile Justice System (2013).

Introduction: Confronting the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Journeys to Racial Justice Organizing -- The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Criminalization as Racial Domination and Control -- "Nationalizing local struggles:" Community Organizing and Social Justice Movements -- "There is no national without the local:" Building a National Movement Grounded in Local Organizing -- The Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse: Intergenerational Community Organizing in Mississippi -- Challenging Criminalization in Los Angeles: Building a Broad and Deep Movement to End the School to-Prison Pipeline -- From the Local to the State: Youth-led Organizing in Chicago -- The Movement Spreads: Organizing in Small Cities, Suburbs and the South -- The Movement Expands: Police-Free Schools, Black Girls Matter and restorative Justice -- Conclusion: Organizing and Movement-Building for Racial and Educational justice.

Examines the relationship between the law and the school-to-prison pipeline, argues that law can be an effective weapon in the struggle to reduce the number of children caught, and discusses the consequences on families and communities.

As part of her senior project Isabel Dumaine felt so inspired that she wrote a book for teenagers which clearly explains the school-to-prison pipeline using original watercolor paintings. It shows snapshots of a life strongly impacted by the pipeline, and her hope is that by reading it, people will become both aware of the problem from a logical standpoint, but also understand the systemic oppression this system creates, and see the humans it is truly impacting.

The persistent failure of public schooling in low-income communities constitutes one of our nation's most pressing civil rights and social justice issues. Many school reformers recognize that poverty, racism, and a lack of power held by these communities undermine children's education and development, but few know what to do about it. A Match on Dry Grass argues that community organizing represents a fresh and promising approach to school reform as part of a broader agenda to build power for low-income communities and address the profound social inequalities that affect the education of children. Based on a comprehensive national study, the book presents rich and compelling case studies of prominent organizing efforts in Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Denver, San Jose, and the Mississippi Delta. The authors show how organizing groups build the participation and leadership of parents and students so they can become powerful actors in school improvement efforts. They also identify promising ways to overcome divisions and create the collaborations between educators and community residents required for deep and sustainable school reform. Identifying the key processes that create strong connections between schools and communities, Warren, Mapp, and their collaborators show how community organizing builds powerful relationships that lead to the transformational change necessary to advance educational equity and a robust democracy.